Miller’s Reds triumph
12 May 2006
The Reds gave coach Jeff Miller a winning send-off with victory over the Highlanders in the Vodacom Super 14 on Friday.
The Reds triumphed 22-16 in a hard-fought encounter played in Townsville, after leading 19-9 at the break, but the match was hardly inspiring as both teams showed it had been a long, hard season.
It was a largely dull encounter, with the key moment coming in the 24th minute when Highlanders flank Hoani MacDonald was sin-binned for a deliberate infringement. At the time his team trailed 7-6 and by the time he returned they had conceded 12 points in ten minutes.
Tries by David Croft and Ben Tune punished the 14-man Highlanders as the home team went out to a 19-6 lead and looked like they were in the mood to have some fun.
The Reds had taken the lead in the 3rd minute when a pin-point Berrick Barnes cross-kick found an unmarked Mitchell Chapman who simply had to fall over the line.
Highlanders fullback Ben Blair kicked two penalties to draw his team to within a point, but then MacDonald produced his professional foul in the 22 that ultimately cost his team dearly.
The Reds scored a pushover by Croft immediately, and Tune swept in four minutes later. Blair though kicked a 38th minute penalty to reduce the deficit at halftime.
The second stanza went pointless until the 65th minute when Highlanders wing Ben Smith rounded off a move that made the score 19-16. Barnes though kicked a 77th minute penalty to make the task more difficult for the visitors and eventually it proved too much for them.
Scorers:
Reds:
Tries: Mitchell Chapman (3rd min), David Croft (25th min), Ben Tune (29th min)
Cons: Julian Huxley 2 (3rd min, 25th min)
Pens: Berrick Barnes (77th min)
Highlanders:
Tries: Ben Smith (64th min)
Cons: Ben Blair (64th min)
Pens: Blair 3 (10th min, 21st min, 38th min)
By Andrew Hollely
33 Comments
12 May 2006, 11:26 am
Go Highlanders!!!!!!!!
12 May 2006, 11:29 am
Only because I put them down on my predictions.
12 May 2006, 11:54 am
Hi Quinn,
Just the two of us…da dee daaaa.
12 May 2006, 11:55 am
zero interest game…
12 May 2006, 11:57 am
Question: Shouldn’t the numer of bonus points decide who goes through after the number of points, and only then the points difference? It makes sense that thise with the highest numer of bonus points have played consistently well during teh season, and did not just annihilate a crappy team…
12 May 2006, 11:58 am
lol Does anyone care about this game? Be interesting to see the crowd for this game Townsville (in far north queensland) is rugby league to the core….
12 May 2006, 12:00 pm
yaaawwnnn. cracker.
12 May 2006, 12:03 pm
mmm i have croft in my fantasy team so if no-one really cares about this game, at least hope my boy gets across the line a few times. thanking you in advance …. cracker
12 May 2006, 12:05 pm
Hey I care. This is the most exciting part of my day!!!
12 May 2006, 12:06 pm
Go Crofty!!!!!
…..zzzzzz…..
12 May 2006, 12:08 pm
heheh. Croft try!!
12 May 2006, 12:08 pm
They sure giving this Blake guy alot of merit, will he fire on the international scene, as they always say, that its alot faster and more physical and against the best props in the world. Blake will be the first prop in and the 2nd would be?!?!?!?
12 May 2006, 12:09 pm
www
Interesting you mention that.
Look at the Sharks and Bulls standings.
Both have 33 points
Sharks have 9 BP and Bulls 7.
Yet the Sharks have lost 6 and the Bulls 5.
What are your thoughts on that scenario?
12 May 2006, 12:12 pm
so ….how about croft. one more try and i get bonus points … c’mon ….
12 May 2006, 12:12 pm
Game aside is boring and Reds all one way, its all about individual performance now, and the Landers scrum with 1 man down is still holding there own.
12 May 2006, 12:16 pm
Blake ol’ pineapple hair. Wahta player!!!
12 May 2006, 12:18 pm
for the record, yawn-of-the-dood, i agree that bonus points should be taken into consideration. cracker.
12 May 2006, 12:23 pm
Niknak and jon,
Actually I think it should first be the result of the match between the two. then bonus points, then points diff, then points for then who has the prettiest hooker….
12 May 2006, 12:36 pm
you can get bonus points for losing as well. it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve played better rugby.
12 May 2006, 12:45 pm
since the issue is only relevant to the top teams, you would presume that they have won alot more than they have lost. in this case a good performance while losing should surely be considered ?
12 May 2006, 12:46 pm
The Cats should get bonus points for being the Cats.
12 May 2006, 12:54 pm
www, to your bounus point question.
If the sharks go throught they would do so by winning 7 games and the brumbies 8. Perhaps the number of games wo should be more important
12 May 2006, 12:54 pm
The Cats should get the death penalty for being the Cats.
I started off the season driving a Z4 and ended up driving a Tata by being loyal to the Cats.
12 May 2006, 13:09 pm
Stan welcome!!
Some interesting rugger coming up this weekend. It’s going right down to the wire….
12 May 2006, 13:35 pm
Ok , waar staan ons nou ? wie kan dit nog maak en wie nie ?
Wie moet wen en wie moet verloor
12 May 2006, 13:48 pm
Andre -
Sharks need to win with a bonus point .. and by 10 points or more to be above the brumbies..
The bulls must win with a bonus point .. and by 26 points to be above the brumbies, + whatever extra the sharks might add on to get to the semi ..
12 May 2006, 14:06 pm
Even for a life long Queensland supporter this was dire. Moans, as you lot call him, has a lot of work to do. Re Blake, he’s big and looks half decent – so lets pick him. The alternative is Al Baxter, who showed us all his international credentials last year (wince). Connolly will know to give Blake the experience now.
12 May 2006, 14:21 pm
Sorry it took so long to reply Jondood – I am expected to work for a living, unlike ol’ carckerjack and buddies…
I agree with RedCard in that numer of wins should be priority first. Then number of bonus points, since they indicated that the team has either not lost by much, or tried to play entertaining rugby.
I reckon that points difference should only kick in after all that…
12 May 2006, 14:34 pm
The rules as they stand currently regarding points difference over wins (and bonus points for that matter) are there to encourage an attacking and attractive brand of rugby. It’s the trademark of super rugby and I like it the way it is.
12 May 2006, 15:08 pm
The only remotely interesting aspect of this match is that the Reds, in winning, denied the Cats the opportunity of possibly finishing 12th (and not 13th or 14th) on the log. So **** ‘em.
13 May 2006, 03:13 am
Oliver post game said that the reds of all the Australian teams had the best scrum, and thats after taking the tahs and brumbies apart up front. Blake for oz front row.
13 May 2006, 03:53 am
WPW, well it did sharks only got there on bonus points. we lost two less games than them and had one more win they had to catch up by getting bonus points
16 May 2006, 12:41 pm
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